Tent pole lock



June 20, 1950 H. F. GUENZL 2,512,099

TENT POLE LOCK Filed Aug. 14, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet l Inventor EMZWS June20, 1950 H. F. GUENZL 7 2,512,099

TENT POLE LOCK Filed Aug. 14, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I6 /9 I J Inventor2/ j] 7 7 fiz/ be/v A 602/72/ Patented June 20, 1950 UNIT STAT E S E? EN Y Q FF ICTEI The present invention relates to new and usefulimprovements in tents and more particularly to locking means for thepoles of'a tepee type tent whereby to-secure the polesin an uprightposition .without requiring the.use of pegs, ropes or other fasteningdevices for securing the tent in. its erectedposition.

Aifurther object of the invention is to provide a..connector.for theupper ends ofv a plurality of tent poles and'to which the poles arepivotally attached to swing the poles into a collapsed position when notin use together with means for expanding or spreading the poles andsecuring the same against folding or collapsed movement.

A further object of the invention is to provide a connector for theupper ends of the tent poles whereby the same are at all times connectedto each other in order that the poles may be carried and stored as aunit without danger of the poles becoming scattered from each other andlost.

Another object is to provide a device of this character of simple andpractical construction, which is eflicient and reliable in use,relatively inexpensive to manufacture and otherwise well adapted for thepurposes for which the same is intended.

Other objects and advantages reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, wherein likenumerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a connector for the upper ends of thetent poles embodying one form of the invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevational view.

Figure 3 is a bottom plan view.

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view taken on a line 44 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary top plan view showing the upper ends of thetent poles secured to the connector.

Figure 6 is a side elevational view thereof.

Figure 7 is a top plan view of a modified form of connector.

Figure 8 is a side elevational view thereof.

Figure 9 is a sectional view taken on a line 99 of Figure 8.

Figure 10 is a vertical sectional view showing the expander in use forspreading the tent poles.

Figure 11 is a side elevational view of the tent poles in uprightposition, and

Figure 12 is a similar view showing the tent poles in collapsedposition.

2 Claims. (Cl. 135-4) Referring now to the drawings in' detail :andfirst with respect to the form of the invention'ile lustrated in Figures1 to 6 inclusive, the numeral 5 designates the connector which isconstructed in the form of a ring or band of hexagonal form and providedwith a bolt or pin Bfextending transversely thereofand supported attwoof .the flat sides of the connector.

A'sleeve 1 is mountedon: thebolt. or pin 6 and on which is swingablysupported an eye 8 of a bolt 9 suspended from the pin, the bolt 9 havinga disc [0 freely mounted thereon and adjusted vertically on the bolt bymeans of a wing nut I I threaded on the lower end thereof. The edge ofthe disc I0 is formed with a downwardly extending outwardly inclinedflange [2.

A plurality of tent poles 13 have their upper ends positioned againstthe flat sides of the connector 5 on the inside thereof and arepivotally secured to the connector by bolts or the like I l, the lowerends of the poles having limited spreading movement into an openposition, an adjacent fiat side of the connector 5 functioning as a stopfor engaging the upper ends of the poles which project above theconnector to limit the opening or spreading movement of the lower endsof the poles.

The lower ends of the poles are locked in their open or expandedposition by adjusting the disc or expander l0 vertically on the bolt 9and securing the same in its raised position by the wing nut II wherebyto prevent folding or collapsing movement of the poles.

Accordingly, when the expande it is moved upwardly with the flange ii ofthe expander engaging the inner edges of the pole 13 below the connector5 in the manner as shown in Figure 6 of the drawings, the lower ends ofthe poles will be locked in their open or expanded position and thepoles may then support a tent covering thereon (not shown) to provide atepee type tent which will be supported in an upright position withoutrequiring the use of pegs, rope or other fastening devices.

In the form of the invention illustrated in Figures '7 to l2 inclusive,the connector designated generally at E5 is in the form of a, conicalmetal cap 66 including a bottom H to the underside of which a pluralityof inverted U-shaped hangers 58 are welded or otherwise suitablysecured. Pins 19 extend transversely of the hangers and to which theupper ends of the tent poles are pivota1ly attached, the upper ends ofthe poles having square corners 2| adapted to engage the tops of thehangers to limit the outward swinging movement of the poles.

A bolt 2| extends downwardly from the bottom 11 of the cap and on whichthe expanding disc 22 is supported for vertical adjustment thereon andsecured in its vertically adjusted position by means of the wing nut 23.The expander 22 engages the inner edges of the poles 20 to secure thelater in their outwardly inclined position against collapsing movementwhereby the frame of the tent formed by the poles 29 will be supportedin an upright position as shown in Figure 11 of the drawings withoutrequiring the use of pegs, ropes or other fastening devices.

By moving the expander 22 downwardly on the bolt 2| the poles 20 may beswung into a collapsed position as shown in Figure 12 and the free endsof the poles tied together by a rope or the like 24 for convenientlytransporting and storing the same.

In view of the foregoing description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings it is believed that a. clear understanding of theconstruction, operation and advantages of the device will be quiteapparent to those skilled in this art. A more detailed description isaccordingly deemed unnecessary.

It is to be understood, however, that even though there is herein shownand described a preferred embodiment of the invention the same 4 issusceptible to certain changes fully comprehended by the spirit of theinvention as herein described and the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A tent frame comprising a plurality of tent poles, an annular ringsurrounding said poles and connected thereto adjacent the upper endsthereof, a transverse bolt secured to said ring, and locking meanssecured to said bolt and engaging said tent poles to lock them inoutwardly swung position.

2. A tent frame comprising a plurality of tent poles, an annular ringsurrounding said poles, means securing the poles to the ring in spacedrelation with respect to each other, a transverse bolt secured to saidring, and locking means secured to said bolt and engaging the tent polesto lock them in outwardly swung position.

HERBERT F. GUENZL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Harris Aug. 5, 1947

